Operations
UNHCR is currently working in 126 countries across 456 locations. Detailed planning and reporting information is available below for over 40 operations. The main criterion for the selection of operations presented below is the amount of expenditure; however, UNHCR strives to achieve a regional balance and some smaller operations are also included.
NEW: 2016 planning information has just been released. Budgets and population planning figures for 40 selected country operations, as well as 16 subregional overviews, can be viewed online and downloaded in PDF format.
- Africa
- Central Africa and the Great Lakes
- SUBREGIONAL OVERVIEW
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- United Republic of Tanzania
- East and Horn of Africa
- Southern Africa
- West Africa
- Asia and the Pacific
Working Environment
At the start of 2015, there were around 16.8 million people of concern to UNHCR in sub-Saharan Africa. That number increased by tens of thousands during the year, due in large part to the continuation of the humanitarian crises in the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria and South Sudan. Numbers grew also with the eruption of new emergencies in Burundi – affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania (Tanzania), and Uganda, and in Yemen – affecting mainly Djibouti and Somalia. By the end of 2015, more than 18 million people are expected to be displaced in Africa.In the East and Horn of Africa region, more than 1.6 million are internally displaced in South Sudan, and 620,000 South Sudanese have sought safety in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. While land has been identified to accommodate the large number of displaced, pressure is mounting on hosting communities to cope with the influxes. A system-wide level-three emergency, declared in February 2014, is still in force at the end of 2015.
Since March 2015, the conflict in Yemen has not abated, with ongoing movements of refugees into Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. A Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Yemen refugee situation has been appointed and UNHCR will continue to coordinate the inter-agency response to the situation in the Horn of Africa through 2016.
Following the ministerial pledging conference on Somali refugees in October 2015, UNHCR will work with partners to achieve sustainable solutions for the 1.1 million Somali refugees around the globe, including by expanding opportunities for voluntary repatriation across the region.
In 2015, the new or renewed conflicts in Burundi, the CAR and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have added to previous levels of displacement, leaving more than 5 million people uprooted in the Central Africa and Great Lakes region. Although the CAR situation had stabilized with apparent progress in the peace process through the Bangui Forum, conflict has flared up once again, with tens of thousands of internally displaced seeking shelter at M’poko – the site at the Bangui airport that was scheduled to close in mid-September 2015.
The instability surrounding the Burundi elections that began in March 2015 is not yet resolved and the capacity of camps in receiving countries is stretched to the limit. In Tanzania, measures are being taken to move refugees from overcrowded sites to newly constructed camps by the end of 2015 to relieve the pressure and avoid the spread of communicable diseases.
In 2016, UNHCR will continue to focus on preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence throughout the region, where it is a major risk in situations of continued conflict and violence, particularly in the eastern DRC.
Conflict continues in Nigeria and this has spilled into neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. More than 2.3 million internally displaced people, and another 178,000 displaced across borders, are currently in insecure areas, requiring UNHCR to further boost its field presence and expand protection monitoring efforts. However, the Regional Refugee Response Plan, issued in 2015 by the organization and its partners, is severely underfunded, adding to the challenges of managing this unpredictable humanitarian situation.
In Mali, despite the signature of peace agreements in May and June 2015, insecurity continues to hamper voluntary return efforts. Recent renewed fighting in northern Mali has driven more families into exile. UNHCR will continue to support Malians in exile, and, once conditions are secure, support their voluntary return.
Strategy
UNHCR has focused its strategy for Africa on the most urgent protection and assistance needs; planning and responding to emergencies; identifying innovative solutions for protracted solutions; and promoting partnerships with agencies and institutions that can help to fill these gaps. In 2016, the Office’s will respond to the needs of people of concern in the region by:Addressing the protection and assistance needs of people of concern
This is the mainstay of UNHCR’s work across the region, and will be key to developing adequate responses in countries such as Cameroon, Chad, the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and other countries hosting large numbers of refugees. Hosting communities will also be supported, where possible, to reduce tensions and allow for some level of normality to be attained while populations remain in displacement.Strengthening emergency preparedness and response
In a region where elections have often precipitated violence, there are expected to be around eight presidential elections between the third quarter of 2015 and the end of 2016. While it is hard to predict if and when unrest will occur, insecurity seems likely to continue in countries such as Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, eastern DRC, Niger, northern Nigeria and parts of Somalia, and the organization is required to put in place mechanisms for early and proactive response.Pursuing durable solutions
Following the call made during the High Level Segment on Africa held in the context of the 2014 Executive Committee plenary session, UNHCR is intensifying efforts to find solutions and promote lasting security and opportunities for refugees in protracted situations. During the past year, UNHCR has initiated high-level solutions-based drives for Angolan, Rwandan and Somali refugees, particularly in the East and Horn of Africa. These initiatives will continue in 2016 in order to allow the organization to finally end these long-standing situations.Working towards ending statelessness
Following the launch in November 2014 of UNHCR’s campaign to end statelessness by 2024, the Office has intensified efforts to address the issue in Africa through advocacy, public awareness campaigns, opening legal avenues for receiving documentation and a host of similar projects intended to significantly reduce the estimated 750,000-plus stateless people in the region.Focusing on alternatives to camps
Keeping in mind UNHCR’s policies on alternatives to camps and on refugee protection and solutions in urban areas, operations in Africa will endeavour to advocate for out-of-camp solutions whenever possible, building on advances made in countries such as Ethiopia and Uganda. In 2016, UNHCR will lobby for increased services for urban refugees across the continent.Providing leadership in situations of internal displacement
In recent years, UNHCR’s involvement in situations where people are internally displaced has evolved and intensified, with the organization taking on more leadership, particularly in the areas of protection, camp coordination and management, and shelter. Situations that have large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs), such as the DRC, Nigeria and South Sudan, will be supported within the inter-agency framework to address critical protection and assistance needs.Challenges
Continuing conflict and violence – particularly in the CAR, Cameroon, Chad, eastern DRC, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan – hamper access for UNHCR and partners, who are striving to provide protection and assistance in the region. In some areas, attacks on humanitarian workers have prevented or delayed humanitarian action and left tens of thousands of displaced people without essential goods and services such as food and shelter. Terrorist and insurgent activities have also created an increasingly restricted environment for displaced and hosting communities.Logistical constraints cause major obstacles to access in countries with poor infrastructure, lack of passable roads during inclement weather, and administrative hold-ups at shipping points. Furthermore, the region’s extreme weather patterns frequently create additional hardship for refugees, IDPs and hosting communities. Flooding, drought and other harsh weather often limit agricultural production, access and availability of resources for populations of concern to UNHCR, hampering resilience and livelihood efforts.
In 2015, in the Africa region, UNHCR has had to establish 12 new camps and expand seven others due to the ongoing refugee emergencies. Additional land for the establishment of more camps or sites is currently being sought in countries where new arrival rates are still high. While it is important to note that in several host countries new arrivals are being accommodated outside of camps, the overcrowding of such sites due to new movements has become a critical problem that the agency struggles to address.
Working Environment
The Brazil Plan of Action
Latin American and Caribbean countries are demonstrating their strong commitment to enhancing the protection of refugees and other displaced and stateless people, and to fostering innovative durable solutions for them under the Brazil Plan of Action (BPA). The BPA is a framework for cooperation and regional solidarity adopted in December 2014 to strengthen international protection and solutions for those in need in the region. Countries concerned have already embarked on implementing relevant aspects of this plan, setting priorities for the first three-year period (2015-2017) and establishing follow-up and regional coordination mechanisms. Further information on the BPA is presented in a special summary feature within this regional chapter.In 2016, UNHCR will strengthen its strategic partnerships with government counterparts, as well as with regional fora and their technical institutions, such as the Central American Integration System and the MERCOSUR Institute for Public Policies on Human Rights.
North America and the Caribbean
General elections took place in Canada in 2015 and presidential elections will be held in the United States in 2016. UNHCR will pursue its privileged partnership with the new administrations of these two key countries to maintain and enhance political and financial support for its programmes globally. The announced increase in resettlement opportunities will be given particular focus by UNHCR in 2016 to boost solutions for the ever-increasing number of refugees worldwide.The Caribbean is faced with an increasingly complex phenomenon of mixed migration, involving people who may be in need of international protection travelling along with economic migrants. The region also produces refugees and is a transit gateway for refugees and asylum-seekers trying to reach North America. The growing number of arrivals is placing a strain on the limited resources and capacities of small islands and coastal States in the Caribbean region. This situation adversely affects the ability of people in need of international protection to apply for asylum, a concern compounded by currently weak national mechanisms for identifying refugees within mixed migratory movements.
Displacement from Central America
In 2015, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have continued to be affected by violence perpetrated by transnational criminal groups, posing serious risks to local populations and affecting regional security. The number of asylum applications from these countries almost doubled in 2014 compared to 2013. UNHCR has strengthened its presence in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico in order to support these Governments in addressing the protection needs of people of concern, including unaccompanied and separated children displaced by violence in Central America.In 2015, more than 55,000 unaccompanied children and children with families from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) were apprehended crossing into the United States at the border with Mexico. When compared to the same period in 2014, the rate of arrivals has fallen by half, but the drop is mainly due to arrests and deportations from Mexico, which saw 12,794 children apprehended and detained in administrative detention centres in the first half of 2015. In total, around 65,000 deportations from Mexico had been carried out by the end of August 2015.
The Colombia situation
A much-awaited peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) remains the best hope for political and humanitarian solutions after five decades of conflict, not only for Colombians but also for the rest of Latin America. The peace process has led to renewed efforts to secure a ceasefire, despite an escalation in confrontations in the first half of 2015.The process has also led to the establishment of a Commission for the Investigation of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition. This body aims to provide access to transitional justice for 6.3 million internally displaced people and up to 360,000 Colombian refugees in the region and beyond, as well as other victims of the conflict. In support of the peace process, UNHCR has assisted the negotiating parties with advice on issues concerning victims’ rights and their restoration.
The Southern Cone
UNHCR is partnering with MERCOSUR members and associate States to foster harmonized quality asylum systems across the region, building on the international doctrine of the Inter-American Human Rights System. The ongoing regional evaluation of resettlement programmes, carried out with UNHCR’s support in five countries, will also help support work to align resettlement programmes in the Southern Cone with current needs.Following the example of Uruguay – which has received an initial group of Syrian refugee families from Lebanon – new resettlement programmes are being explored with Brazil and Chile, with the aim of providing protection and solutions to other vulnerable refugees from the Middle East. Humanitarian visa programmes, developed in Argentina and Brazil, are also pragmatic options to support the global refugee agenda and protect people fleeing the Syrian conflict. The MERCOSUR member States have also unanimously endorsed the High Commissioner’s campaign to end statelessness.
Strategy
In 2016, UNHCR will place particular emphasis on supporting the efforts of Latin American and Caribbean States in the implementation of the BPA. The BPA strategic programmes, including in the areas of asylum, border safety, comprehensive solutions, labour mobility, maritime protection, safe transit, and statelessness, will be translated into projects implemented throughout the region. More generally, across the entire region, UNHCR’s response to the needs of people of concern will be articulated around the following protection and operational strategies.Building a common asylum space
UNHCR will continue to consolidate the Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI) process in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama, and will expand its support to countries that have expressed interest in joining the QAI, including Chile, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to providing technical support to States in implementing the QAI recommendations at country level, UNHCR will develop an online forum where a toolkit and good country examples will be made available for interested States. Based on the experiences of refugee status determination (RSD) bodies in Canada (CIC), the United States (USCIS) and Mexico (COMAR), a capacity-building model to strengthen RSD procedures in other countries in the Americas region, through a twinning approach, will be replicated elsewhere.Pursuing durable solutions
Identifying comprehensive solutions for displaced Colombians is at the centre of UNHCR’s strategies in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Venezuela). Solutions include: enhanced protection, naturalization, local integration, relocation and voluntary return, resettlement of people with specific needs, and the prospect of labour mobility schemes for refugees with protection safeguards. In Colombia, the UNHCR-UNDP Transitional Solutions Initiative (TSI) has pilot-tested solutions strategies in 17 communities. Methodologies and lessons learned are being handed over to the respective authorities to replicate and help assure the sustainability of these solutions in affected parts of the country.In Ecuador, the Comprehensive Solutions Initiative (CSI) for Colombian refugees enables UNHCR to assist the authorities in addressing integration challenges. The Ecuadorian Government is also issuing two-year MERCOSUR visas to Colombians. While these do not provide asylum-protection safeguards, they do allow arrivals to stay legally and find employment. Estimates suggest that some 900 people continue to cross into the country on a monthly basis, most of them fleeing conflict in southern Colombia. A human mobility legislative bill, which UNHCR has been able to comment upon and includes provisions to deal with the needs of refugees and victims of human trafficking, has been presented to Ecuador’s National Assembly.
In Venezuela, a protection and solutions strategy under development will focus on facilitating the acquisition of documents for Colombian asylum-seekers to improve their access to basic services and employment. The strategy aims to assist the authorities to ensure that refugees and people in a refugee-like situation enjoy protection and are able to pursue solutions. The strategy will complement those being carried out in Colombia and Ecuador to allow a more comprehensive approach to solutions in the region.
In the Southern Cone, UNHCR has a unique opportunity to consolidate an effective protection space in the subregion. It will promote comprehensive solutions for refugees, including by: expanding the framework of public policies that facilitate local integration; launching more sustainable resettlement programmes; and promoting other forms of admission that will benefit refugees and people in need of international protection from the Middle East and other regions.
Supporting the regional initiative for Central America and Mexico
Under a regional initiative to address forced displacement, UNHCR will bolster border monitoring and expand protection networks in Guatemala, Honduras and southern Mexico. This will include: bolstering protection interventions for unaccompanied children in border and transit areas, in line with the best interest of the child principle; and setting up community-based protection and monitoring networks with civil society and ombudsman offices to identify and profile children and other vulnerable groups and establish sound referral mechanisms.The absence of dedicated State infrastructure for families and children at risk in their home country impedes the delivery of protection responses, such as local integration, safe internal flight alternatives, and emergency responses for deported individuals with international protection needs. However, UNHCR, in coordination with international partners, will continue to identify and evaluate protection mechanisms in the countries of origin and support their implementation by national governments and civil society organizations.
The BPA envisages the establishment of a “human rights observatory on displacement” to facilitate regional coordination, monitoring, and the creation of early warning and rapid response mechanisms for population groups at risk in Central America, particularly unaccompanied and separated children.
Addressing mixed migration movements in the Caribbean
In the Caribbean, a regional consultative mechanism to enhance protection at sea and solutions for an ever increasing refugee population in the subregion will be established. In addition, UNHCR will work with several countries (The Bahamas, Belize, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks Caicos Islands) on multi-year national protection and solutions strategies.While each national strategy will be tailored to specific protection challenges, the overarching goal is to achieve a gradual transfer of protection responsibilities to Governments in the region. This will be undertaken in accordance with UNHCR’s 10-Point Plan of Action through: the establishment of national asylum systems; the adoption of alternatives to detention; the establishment of national asylum legislation and eligibility procedures; and the building of Governments’ capacity to conduct refugee status determination.
Working towards ending statelessness
The vast majority of Latin American and Caribbean States are committed to the eradication of statelessness through the BPA. Nevertheless, despite a generally favourable environment for the implementation of UNHCR’s global campaign to end statelessness in the region, there are persistent challenges in some parts of the Caribbean, where safeguards for preventing statelessness and gender discrimination are lacking in some nationality laws. Only a few countries have yet to become parties to the statelessness conventions.However, most countries in the region still lack domestic protection frameworks or statelessness determination procedures, as well as mechanisms to facilitate naturalization. In some instances, weak civil registration and documentation systems risk generating statelessness. There is also a need to gather accurate information on the populations at risk of statelessness in some countries. In 2016, UNHCR’s will seek to resolve cases of statelessness in the Caribbean. In the rest of the continent, efforts will be pursued to reduce statelessness through prevention strategies, in order to ensure that all countries are able to identify, protect, and eventually facilitate the naturalization of stateless people.
Challenges
Despite positive advances, including the announced signature of a peace agreement by the Government of Colombia and the FARC negotiators, observers believe that such an outcome is unlikely to see immediate peace. The “construction” of peace will likely be accompanied by an initial increase in violence and displacement in various parts of the country as new dynamics take hold. A demobilization process could also see the resurgence of other illegal armed groups. UNHCR will support the Government during this delicate phase and help it to continue to protect and assist internally displaced people and refugees, as well as affected communities, and to promote their access to sustainable solutions.The wide geographic expanse of territory between the NTCA and Mexico – characterized by porous borders, fluctuating migration patterns, and uneven government law enforcement capacity, combined with limited human resources and sometimes institutional fragilities – poses many challenges for monitoring border regions and migratory routes, and supporting community-based protection.
Maritime incidents continue to be reported in the Caribbean, where States struggle to manage an ever-increasing number of mixed migratory movements, including the use of on unseaworthy vessels often operated by people in smuggling and human trafficking networks. Refugees are taking enormous risks to escape persecution and life-threatening situations. Maritime interception, disembarkation and return procedures often ignore the necessary safeguards for people with specific protection needs, violating the principle of non-refoulement.
Financial Information
In the past five years, comprehensive needs for the Americas have grown from USD 93 million in 2010 to USD 117 million in 2015. The increase was related to new displacements following the earthquake in Haiti and to criminal and gang violence in Central America, as well as to new opportunities for solutions for IDPs in Colombia and for refugees in Costa Rica and Ecuador. In 2016, the requirements remain stable, at USD 115.5 million, to support states in the region to implement the various elements of the Brazil Plan of Action, from the quality of asylum initiative to solutions and the eradication of statelessness.Working Environment
The Asia and the Pacific region is host to 3.8 million refugees, 5 million internally displaced people (IDPs), and 1.5 million stateless people. Of the 45 countries and territories in the region, only 20 have acceded to the 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but many continue to uphold traditions of hospitality to refugees and people in refugee-like situations.The majority of refugees in the region originate from Afghanistan and Myanmar. Afghan refugees have been in exile for more than three decades and are either second or third-generation refugees who have never lived in Afghanistan. The approximately 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees are dispersed across 70 countries, but the vast majority are hosted by just two countries - the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan.
The formation of Afghanistan’s National Unity Government reignited hope for a stable Afghanistan and the possibility of lasting solutions for millions of Afghan refugees. The new Government is committed to welcoming Afghan refugees home, involving them in the country’s reconstruction process, and to strengthening cooperation with its two neighbouring host countries and UNHCR in order to find durable solutions for them.
Nevertheless, challenges lie ahead. Increasing numbers of Afghans are leaving the country to escape intensifying fighting and dire economic conditions, making their way to other parts of the region and also further afield. UNHCR estimates that Afghans account for up to 20 per cent of the people who have arrived by boat seeking international protection in Europe in 2015.The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan is also internally displacing an increasing number of people.
In South-East Asia, Myanmar has undergone considerable political changes since 2011, making notable progress in the nationwide ceasefire negotiations involving different armed groups. It is hoped that the national elections, scheduled for November 2015, will constitute another important milestone towards progress in the country’s reform process.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of people are taking to the seas in search of protection in South-East Asia. During the first six months of 2015 alone, some 31,000 people departed by sea from the Bay of Bengal, a 34 per cent increase in numbers for the same period in 2014. Around 370 people are believed to have died at sea in the first eight months of 2015. Concerned States in the region and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), supported by the United Nations and international organizations, civil society and other stakeholders, are strengthening cooperation to address the issue of irregular migration at sea (see also special feature in this chapter).
The protection and provision of assistance for refugees living in urban and semi-urban contexts – a population of 2.8 million people, which represents 80 per cent of the total refugee population in Asia and the Pacific – continues to be a priority for UNHCR. Experience suggests that inadequate protection, inequitable access to education and livelihood opportunities, and a lack of available solutions in countries of first asylum often lead to irregular onward movements. The increasing numbers of people seeking to move onwards have placed additional burdens on other asylum countries and challenged UNHCR’s capacity to carry out refugee status determination (RSD) in operations receiving many new arrivals.
Further, more than 43 per cent of the people of concern to UNHCR under its statelessness mandate are concentrated in Asia and the Pacific: addressing this problem is therefore at the forefront of UNHCR’s work in this region.
Strategy
Safeguarding protection and asylum space
UNHCR will continue to ensure adequate access to fair RSD processes in countries without national asylum procedures. The Office will also strengthen its advocacy and cooperation with States to uphold respect for international refugee and human rights law, including the principle of non-refoulement.In 2016-2017, efforts to improve protection standards, including with regard to mixed movements, and to promote regional, protection-sensitive asylum management systems will be pursued. Priorities include: identifying alternatives to detention for asylum-seekers; individual status determination; and third-country resettlement, such as temporary protection schemes and the promotion of bilateral labour-migration agreements.
In Central Asia, UNHCR will continue to support governments in developing legal frameworks and national asylum systems that comply with international refugee protection standards, and to include all people of concern in national systems. All operations will be shifting gradually from care and maintenance and mandate status determination activities to focusing on solutions and institution-building.
In South-East Asia, UNHCR will work with concerned States to address mixed maritime movements in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. This includes the implementation of measures agreed upon in 2015 during a meeting on the issue organized by the Government of Thailand and attended by countries in the region, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and other States and stakeholders. These measures target the protection of people stranded at sea; the prevention of irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking; and moves to address the root causes of flight, including improving livelihood opportunities for at-risk communities.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan have continued to protect large numbers of Afghan refugees for decades in difficult socio-economic conditions. In Pakistan, the Government has extended the validity of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards until the end of 2015. The Government’s draft Comprehensive Policy on Voluntary Repatriation and Management of Afghan Nationals Beyond 2015 includes a proposal to extend the validity of the PoR cards until the end of 2017. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, meanwhile, registered refugees are provided with Amayesh cards, which enable their access to basic services and facilitate the issuance of work permits.
Finding solutions for protracted refugee situations
In 2016 and 2017, UNHCR will continue to work with governments in the region to achieve durable solutions for people of concern, including through resettlement and, whereever possible, voluntary repatriation.In Afghanistan, where significant political reform has taken place, nearly 54,000 refugees have returned to the country in 2015 – almost as many as the combined total for the previous two years. Reinvigorated multi-year support by the international community is essential to reinforce successes achieved to date. UNHCR will continue to support the Governments of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan to implement the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) – a comprehensive and integrated framework for joint interventions aimed at facilitating voluntary return and sustainable reintegration, while at the same time providing assistance to host countries. Concerted efforts have been made by these three Governments and UNHCR to implement the strategy since its adoption in 2012, including by developing country-specific projects. Targeting the cross-cutting sectors of education, health and livelihoods, these projects offer an integrated framework for cooperation and coordination to address the needs of Afghan refugees in each country and to advance solutions for them.
Meanwhile, in Myanmar, UNHCR will pursue its work with partners and stakeholders, including development agencies, to prepare for the return and reintegration of refugees from neighbouring countries.
In South Asia, UNHCR will continue to work with States concerned to seek durable solutions for refugees from Bhutan living in camps in Nepal. The number of refugees from Bhutan who have been resettled by UNHCR is expected to exceed 100,000 by end-2015, but a small number – many of them elderly – are likely to opt to remain in Nepal, with the hope of one day returning to Bhutan.
The Office will also look at strengthening protection activities for the large number of refugees living in the region’s urban and semi-urban areas. Interventions will target four main areas: undertaking community outreach; fostering constructive relations between UNHCR and urban refugees; ensuring access to education, healthcare and other services; and promoting livelihoods and self-reliance.
Ensuring protection and durable solutions for IDPs
In Myanmar, the Government has started implementing a “phased approach” to end the internal displacement in Rakhine state which affects some 130,000 people. UNHCR will continue protection monitoring in areas of return and advocate for joint monitoring and engagement by government authorities and humanitarian and development actors to find lasting solutions for this population. In Kachin state, where some 100,000 people remain displaced, timely access to solutions will depend on the success of a nationwide ceasefire agreement.In South-West Asia, UNHCR will continue to work with the Government of Pakistan to protect and assist around 1.3 million IDPs, including more than 690,000 people who have been displaced in the North Waziristan and Khyber Agencies since 2014. In Afghanistan, the organization will liaise with the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation on implementing the national IDP policy.
UNHCR supports the Government of Sri Lanka in finding durable solutions for remaining IDPs, and advocates for their sustainable reintegration into their areas of origin. The Office is implementing community-based livelihood initiatives aimed at improving the self-reliance and reintegration of former IDPs in the country’s north, and is also carrying out capacity building for the authorities to help resolve housing, land and property issues. Solution-focused support for IDPs is provided in line with the Government’s reconciliation programme.
Reducing and preventing statelessness and protecting stateless people
In Central Asia, where more than 115,000 people remain stateless or with undetermined nationality, UNHCR has developed regional guidance for operations to implement context-specific strategies under its Global Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024.In Myanmar, where an estimated 1 million people are without citizenship, the Government has taken some positive steps towards solutions. UNHCR will support the authorities to expand a planned citizenship verification exercise – initially limited to the town of Myebon – across Rakhine state.
In Malaysia, the Office will continue providing technical assistance to an NGO partner to map, register and provide legal assistance to people, primarily of Tamil descent residing in western Malaysia, who lack nationality documentation.
Challenges
The lack of a legal and institutional framework to anchor protection and solutions in many of the region’s situations remains a major challenge for UNHCR. The need to step in, where governmental capacity is limited in registration, RSD and the search for durable solutions, has also stretched the Office’s resources.Policy responses to mixed maritime movements in the region, including deterrent and punitive measures by some States, continue to cause concern. These severely restrict asylum-seekers’ access to protection and solutions, and undermine the principles of burden sharing and cooperation promoted by regional initiatives such as the Bali Process, and by ASEAN.
The deteriorating security situation in parts of the region, along with the unpredictable political and socio-economic conditions, is also a cause for concern. In addition, with expanding global asylum and migration issues, traditional solutions, such as resettlement to third countries, local integration and voluntary return, may need to be carefully considered with a view to identifying alternative mid-course solutions, such as providing temporary protection.
States must embrace their responsibilities toward protecting refugees within their territories and look for solutions for these populations, either through providing legal status, alternative stay arrangements or other forms of protection, for instance through labour-migration schemes.
Financial Information
Limited humanitarian funding globally, combined with an increasing number of new emergencies, has severely constrained the resources available for UNHCR’s operations in Asia and the Pacific. Although needs have grown during the past five years, the Office has had to make difficult decisions to reprioritize its activities in order to meet the most critical needs in the region, while also phasing down some programmes.UNHCR has reduced its 2016 budget for the region by more than USD 30 million to USD 534.34 million. The financial requirements for South-West Asia, comprising operations in the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, represent some 63 per cent of the total requirements; the Myanmar operation represents some 10 per cent; and the remaining 27 per cent is shared among 18 other small and medium-sized operations.
UNHCR is especially concerned that a shortage of funding for the Afghan situation would hamper the search for solutions in the critical year ahead and could have a severe impact on the delivery of key protection activities throughout the region.
Working Environment
Since mid-2015, the number of people risking their lives at sea in search of safety in Europe has increased rapidly. The majority have arrived in Greece after crossing stretches of the Aegean Sea from Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide under UNHCR’s mandate (more than 2 million by October 2015). From Greece, many have sought to move onwards by land through countries in South-Eastern and Central Europe, in order to reach European Union Member States further afield.By late October 2015, more than 700,000 people had arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. The number of arrivals in Greece is already 13 times higher than the total number of arrivals in 2014. Most people are fleeing war, violence and persecution – originating mainly from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) – and there is a larger proportion of families, women, and unaccompanied and separated children than in previous years.
Almost 445,000 asylum applications were lodged in 38 European countries between January and June 2015 – 60 per cent more than in the same period in 2014. Some 78 per cent of these applications were lodged in European Union Member States, mainly France, Germany, Hungary and Sweden. Serbia and Kosovo (Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)) and Turkey have also experienced significant increases – tenfold and eightfold respectively – in the number of asylum applications filed in 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.
The scale and fluidity of refugee movements in Europe have posed significant challenges for asylum systems and reception facilities in many countries. There remain serious concerns about the exposure of refugees and migrants to smuggling rings and harsh and dangerous conditions. Despite increased search and rescue operations, more than 3,100 refugees and migrants lost their lives trying to reach Europe by sea between January and October 2015. In response to these challenges, UNHCR has declared internal level-2 emergencies for its operations in Greece, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and, most recently, Hungary.
In May 2015, the European Commission issued the European Agenda on Migration, containing a number of proposals to respond to asylum and migration challenges in the European Union. UNHCR has welcomed the comprehensive approach offered by the European Agenda on Migration, including recognition of the need for coordinated action across a range of policy areas among relevant European Union stakeholders.
At the same time, Europe continues to grapple with displacement as a result of ongoing violence in Ukraine. By October 2015, the Government of Ukraine had registered 1.53 million internally displaced people (IDPs). An even higher number reportedly remained unregistered. More than 922,600 Ukrainians have also applied for asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries and the Member States of the European Union, including the Russian Federation (765,600), Belarus (81,600) and Germany (4,600). Many more have benefitted from visa-free regimes in other countries.
The number of European States party to the two statelessness conventions has continued to rise, with the accession of Turkey to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in March 2015. Nevertheless, there remain challenges in ensuring documentation and access to rights for many of the estimated 600,000 stateless people in Europe, pending their acquisition or confirmation of a nationality. Lowering the risk of statelessness among children born to those seeking international protection in Europe will require identification and prevention efforts to be strengthened, and legislation to be effectively implemented.
Strategy
UNHCR’s response in 2016 to the needs of people of concern in so many complex and critical situations across this region will be articulated around the following protection and operational strategies.
Emergency response to refugee arrivals and mixed movements by sea
The situation of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean is reaching a critical point. In view of the further support which the evolving operational context of the crisis calls for, following the declaration of an internal level-2 emergency, in August 2015, the High Commissioner designated the Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe as Regional Refugee Coordinator (RRC) for the situation in Europe. The RRC is leading the organization’s response to the emergency, ensuring a comprehensive approach across all affected countries and closely coordinating with the European Union.
In 2016, UNHCR will continue to cooperate with relevant government counterparts, European Union institutions and agencies, international partners, non-governmental organizations and local communities to respond to the situation in line with its Special Mediterranean Initiative. The Office will continue to focus on: providing emergency and life-saving assistance; strengthening coordination structures; conducting protection monitoring, critical incident reporting and advocacy; providing appropriate advisory, technical and functional support to government authorities; and capacity building, particularly in terms of emergency reception arrangements.
Safeguarding asylum space and providing acceptable reception conditions
UNHCR will continue to advocate for alternative legal channels to allow refugees to reach Europe safely, including: enhanced resettlement opportunities; humanitarian admission programmes; private or community-based private sponsorship schemes; increased access to family reunification; humanitarian visas; and student scholarship schemes.
The organization welcomes the emerging consensus that robust search-and-rescue capacities are essential. UNHCR will continue to work closely with the European Union border agency, Frontex, to advise on protection issues. With relevant counterparts, UNHCR has established protection monitoring mechanisms at border areas along the refugee/migratory route and will continue to support authorities in ensuring protection-sensitive border management.
Establishing adequate reception conditions, particularly for individuals with specific needs, remains a challenge in Europe. Innovative solutions are required, such as the sharing of reception facilities (as agreed by Austria and Slovakia in July 2015 through a memorandum of understanding) and the provision of vouchers for accommodation, which can benefit local economies and infrastructure).
Building and maintaining fair and effective asylum and protection systems
UNHCR will continue to support governments to strengthen national asylum procedures, including through quality control measures. The Office is engaged with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), both bilaterally and as a member of EASO’s management board. Training materials will be developed to assist authorities to assess credibility in the context of asylum claims made by children. UNHCR will also support the second phase of the Asylum Systems Quality Initiative in Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus (2015-2017), which will focus on addressing outstanding gaps in the refugee status determination procedure, improving access to asylum, as well as the quality of judicial review.
Securing durable solutions
There are now regular resettlement programmes in 19 European countries. Collectively, 31 European States (27 European Union Member States plus the associated States) will resettle more than 20,000 people in 2015 and 2016, in line with the resettlement proposal contained in the European Agenda on Migration. In response to UNHCR’s calls for 130,000 places to be made available for Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, 22 European countries have pledged to provide some 63,650 resettlement places and/or other forms of legal admission. The Office will provide support to countries involved in the European Union refugee relocation scheme, which envisages the relocation of persons in clear need of international protection from certain States, including Greece and Italy, to other European Union countries.
In Ukraine, UNHCR will continue to advocate for durable solutions for IDPs, including return. Priorities will include targeted assistance for protection monitoring and interventions, support for community-based organizations working with the displaced, and provision of shelter and multi-purpose cash assistance. “Quick impact projects” will be explored to facilitate integration and peaceful coexistence in host communities. Subject to humanitarian access, UNHCR will assist people returning to non-government-controlled areas or who are at risk of displacement in such areas. UNHCR will continue to support the Government to improve legislation relating to internal displacement, as well as its implementation. The Office will also continue to co-lead the protection and emergency shelter clusters, as part of the inter-agency response.
The search for durable solutions for displaced people in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe will continue. UNHCR will continue to support local integration efforts, working with national stakeholders to ensure people in need of international protection can access adequate housing and family reunification, including through legislative changes and national integration plans, as well as the Regional Housing Programme. The Office will also continue to manage the Emergency Transit Centres in Timisoara, Romania, and Humenné, Slovakia.
Preventing and resolving statelessness
In the context of its global campaign to end statelessness by 2024, UNHCR will continue to advocate measures to reduce known stateless populations, notably in the Baltic States and in the successor States to the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia. Measures may include legislative amendments to permit undocumented stateless people to acquire lawful residence and/or a nationality, improvements in birth registration procedures, training for officials implementing these laws and procedures, and outreach to affected communities. Safeguards against statelessness at birth and awareness-raising amongst governments and affected communities remain particularly important in light of the increased risk of statelessness at birth for children of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe.
UNHCR will continue to work with the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to address statelessness-related concerns. The Office will also continue advocating for the European Union to address statelessness, building on the initiatives taken by the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Council and the European Parliament. In line with its global campaign to end statelessness, UNHCR will collaborate with the European Network on Statelessness, particularly in the areas of advocacy and training.
Challenges
The countries in Europe have diverse political traditions, as well as differing asylum systems and integration measures. Increased arrivals and onward movements through Europe have challenged the European Union’s Common European Asylum System, as well as the political resolve of European Union Member States and others, to act collectively with responsibility and solidarity, in line with their international obligations.
The ongoing conflict in Syria, in particular, is expected to continue to generate large-scale displacement to Turkey and onward movement towards European Union countries. Border management measures adopted by certain countries may have an impact on the asylum space, leading refugees and asylum-seekers to continue to resort to irregular and dangerous means of travel to find safety.
In Ukraine, the work of humanitarian organizations, including UNHCR, will likely remain challenging in certain areas due to restrictions on humanitarian access and freedom of movement. It will be essential to ensure that partner organizations and local civil society, including community-based organizations, receive adequate financial and material support as the situation in Ukraine becomes more protracted. It will also be important to support efforts to assist IDPs to find employment and accommodation, despite the political and economic challenges facing Ukraine.
In some countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, ongoing efforts are required to develop the capacity of national asylum systems, increase refugee recognition rates and ensure that those who qualify for refugee status under the 1951 Convention receive full recognition, rather than complementary forms of protection with lesser rights and entitlements. It will also be important to increase awareness of the risk and impact of statelessness, including in relation to refugees and migrants arriving in Europe.
Financial Information
UNHCR’s 2016 budget for Europe is currently set at USD 516.8 million, a 7.6 per cent increase compared to 2015, and double the budgetary requirements for 2010. Eastern Europe is the subregion that has seen the largest budget increase: from USD 124.7 million in 2010 to USD 407.5 million in 2016, primarily due to the impact of the Iraq, Syria and Ukraine situations.
In addition, as presented in UNHCR’s supplementary appeal for the Special Mediterranean Initiative, released in September 2015, the organization foresees that a further USD 40 million will be needed to respond to the emergency situation in Europe in 2016, including USD 14.74 million for Greece, USD 10.42 million for Serbia and USD 7.17 million for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Requirements for 2016 continue to be reviewed as the situation continues to evolve and will be revised as required. The Special Mediterranean Initiative also foresees activities in countries of asylum and transit in the Middle East and North Africa, West Africa, and the East and Horn of Africa.
Working Environment
Since mid-2015, the number of people risking their lives at sea in search of safety in Europe has increased rapidly. The majority have arrived in Greece after crossing stretches of the Aegean Sea from Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide under UNHCR’s mandate (more than 2 million by October 2015). From Greece, many have sought to move onwards by land through countries in South-Eastern and Central Europe, in order to reach European Union Member States further afield.
By late October 2015, more than 700,000 people had arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. The number of arrivals in Greece is already 13 times higher than the total number of arrivals in 2014. Most people are fleeing war, violence and persecution – originating mainly from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) – and there is a larger proportion of families, women, and unaccompanied and separated children than in previous years.
Almost 445,000 asylum applications were lodged in 38 European countries between January and June 2015 – 60 per cent more than in the same period in 2014. Some 78 per cent of these applications were lodged in European Union Member States, mainly France, Germany, Hungary and Sweden. Serbia and Kosovo (Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)) and Turkey have also experienced significant increases – tenfold and eightfold respectively – in the number of asylum applications filed in 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.
The scale and fluidity of refugee movements in Europe have posed significant challenges for asylum systems and reception facilities in many countries. There remain serious concerns about the exposure of refugees and migrants to smuggling rings and harsh and dangerous conditions. Despite increased search and rescue operations, more than 3,100 refugees and migrants lost their lives trying to reach Europe by sea between January and October 2015. In response to these challenges, UNHCR has declared internal level-2 emergencies for its operations in Greece, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and, most recently, Hungary.
In May 2015, the European Commission issued the European Agenda on Migration, containing a number of proposals to respond to asylum and migration challenges in the European Union. UNHCR has welcomed the comprehensive approach offered by the European Agenda on Migration, including recognition of the need for coordinated action across a range of policy areas among relevant European Union stakeholders.
At the same time, Europe continues to grapple with displacement as a result of ongoing violence in Ukraine. By October 2015, the Government of Ukraine had registered 1.53 million internally displaced people (IDPs). An even higher number reportedly remained unregistered. More than 922,600 Ukrainians have also applied for asylum or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries and the Member States of the European Union, including the Russian Federation (765,600), Belarus (81,600) and Germany (4,600). Many more have benefitted from visa-free regimes in other countries.
The number of European States party to the two statelessness conventions has continued to rise, with the accession of Turkey to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons in March 2015. Nevertheless, there remain challenges in ensuring documentation and access to rights for many of the estimated 600,000 stateless people in Europe, pending their acquisition or confirmation of a nationality. Lowering the risk of statelessness among children born to those seeking international protection in Europe will require identification and prevention efforts to be strengthened, and legislation to be effectively implemented.
Strategy
UNHCR’s response in 2016 to the needs of people of concern in so many complex and critical situations across this region will be articulated around the following protection and operational strategies.
Maintaining protection space
UNHCR’s strategy in 2016 will focus on maintaining the protection space for all refugees in host countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In the case of Syrian refugees, to reduce the strain on hosting countries, the Office will continue to implement the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) and will aim to expand the engagement of development actors in supporting communities hosting them.
Supporting the development of national asylum systems
Several countries in North Africa, including Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, have expressed interest in engaging with UNHCR to establish national asylum laws and procedures. UNHCR will continue to support the Governments of these countries and provide technical advice on related legislative matters.
Strengthening refugee protection in mixed migration movements
In collaboration with all actors affected by mixed-migration movements, UNHCR will encourage a comprehensive human rights-based approach to this phenomenon. UNHCR’s Special Mediterranean Initiative to respond to refugee protection and mixed movements in North Africa is centred on four objectives: preventing refoulement; improving access to territory and to asylum; empowering refugees to make informed decisions; and enhancing protection space, including the quality of stay arrangements and access to protection.
Providing safety from violence and exploitation
UNHCR will continue to implement its strategies on the protection of children, and the prevention of and response to sexual and gender-based violence. The organization will strengthen national protection mechanisms, including by reinforcing two-way communication with communities and providing specialized assistance to refugees with specific needs.
Pursuing durable solutions
UNHCR will search for return solutions for refugees where appropriate. Resettlement will be pursued as both a solution and a vital protection tool for the most vulnerable refugees, who will be identified and assisted by the Office in collaboration with NGOs, civil society and host Governments, helping them to obtain access to basic social, education and health services. Support will also be given to the authorities in the region as they seek to find sustainable solutions for IDPs.
Responding to new emergencies
In view of the region’s developing political and security situation, UNHCR will regularly update its contingency plans to provide a swift and coordinated response to any new emergency.
Building partnerships with local organizations and civil society
UNHCR will seek new partnerships with emerging civil-society institutions in the region while advancing its existing relationships with local organizations. The Office will continue to strengthen its ties with regional bodies, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.
Working towards preventing and ending statelessness
UNHCR will continue to implement its Global Action Plan to End Statelessness. The organization will focus on addressing new risks of statelessness arising in the region related to unprecedented levels of forced displacement, family separation, and the loss or destruction of identity documents. UNHCR will also continue to work with governments to increase birth registration rates for refugees and IDPs, and provide advice on addressing gaps in nationality laws.
Challenges
Conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have resulted in displacement in the Middle East and North Africa on an unparalleled scale. With no political solution in sight and with ever-growing needs, UNHCR faces difficulties in reaching and assisting displaced populations, as well as in maintaining the high level of funding required to respond to the Syria situation. Security-related concerns are increasing, both for UNHCR staff and people of concern to the organization.
Increasingly restrictive State asylum policies, dominated by security concerns, will continue to be a challenge in 2016. In addition, managing the growing number of people travelling as part of mixed migration movements on risky and perilous journeys is of great concern.